


Yours Truly

by RatonLaveur



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Letter form, Letters, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, War AU, world war ii au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:49:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7609795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatonLaveur/pseuds/RatonLaveur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>War has been a part of people’s lives for centuries and it has never been a good thing. It has brought nothing but pain, despair and destruction. How many people lost their homes? How many people lost their loved ones? <br/>Yet the humanity will never learn. <br/>And so even the small Japanese town placed by the ocean called Iwatobi didn’t stay out of the huge conflict known as World War II and the men from this place had to join the Japanese army in order to fight the enemy. <br/>How unlucky were the boys who turned 18 at that time - it meant that they were automatically bound to fight for their country. Haruka Nanase, due to his health problems, such as asthma and anemia, avoided this awful duty. His long time best friend, Makoto Tachibana, wasn’t so lucky and had to leave the calm little town to risk his life in battles against the Allies, the enemy of Japan and their ally Germany.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yours Truly

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, guys!  
> I'm finally able to post this thing. I've been willing to write this for a while now, so I'm glad it's here. It's a war AU, that was inspired by this picture: http://lordzuuko.tumblr.com/post/145050442118  
> Seriously, look at it. It's def in my top 3 MH fanarts, it's so beautiful, I can't stop looking at it, aaah- Nvm. I know it's not completely based on this pic, but since I saw it, I've been wanting to write this, so here you are.  
> I'm also trying a new style, aka the letter style! And to be honest, I had a really hard time with this, but it was fun in the end. And I LOVE letters. I'm so sad that there is no one I could exchange letters with. If you want to exchange letters, hit me up. No, seriously. I couldn't be happier if I got a message/comment saying that someone wants to be my pen pal!  
> Oh, back to the story.   
> Big thanks goes to Terinka for her hard and amazing work as a beta!!!  
> I'll try to update as much as possible!  
> Enjoy!

_ A small green valley where a slow stream flows _

_ And leaves long strands of silver on the bright _

_ Grass; from the mountaintop stream the Sun's _

_ Rays; they fill the hollow full of light. _

 

_ A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed, _

_ A pillow made of fern beneath his head, _

_ Asleep; stretched in the heavy undergrowth, _

_ Pale in his warm, green, sun-soaked bed. _

 

_ His feet among the flowers, he sleeps. His smile _

_ Is like an infant's - gentle, without guile. _

_ Ah, Nature, keep him warm; he may catch cold. _

 

_ The humming insects don't disturb his rest; _

_ He sleeps in sunlight, one hand on his breast; _

_ At peace. In his side there are two red holes. _

 

_ Arthur Rimbaud: Asleep in the valley _

  
  


War has been a part of people’s lives for centuries and it has never been a good thing. It has brought nothing but pain, despair and destruction. How many people lost their homes? How many people lost their loved ones? 

Yet the humanity will never learn. 

And so even the small Japanese town placed by the ocean called Iwatobi didn’t stay out of the huge conflict known as World War II and the men from this place had to join the Japanese army in order to fight the enemy. 

How unlucky were the boys who turned 18 at that time - it meant that they were automatically bound to fight for their country. Haruka Nanase, due to his health problems, such as asthma and anemia, avoided this awful duty. His long time best friend, Makoto Tachibana, wasn’t so lucky and had to leave the calm little town to risk his life in battles against the Allies, the enemy of Japan and their ally Germany.

  
  


_ March 29th 1942, Iwatobi _

 

_ Dear Makoto, _

 

_ I hope you arrived safely. It’s been three days since you left and so many things had happened. I don’t even know where to start. _

_ Alright, I remember that everytime you said “I don’t know where to start!” I told you “Just start at the beggining”. Now I should follow my own advice, right? _

_ The day you left I woke up early, but not early enough to catch you up. Maybe it was better this way, because I wouldn’t have said anything to you and it would have been awkward and you would  have thought I didn’t care for you. But some things are really not easy to say. For me, at least. You know I’m not very good with talking.  _

_ I’m glad you have left me the address. And I hope you know you can write anything to me in your letters, just like you used to talk to me. I know it’s not the same as talking, but we have no other choice. I just wish I had been allowed to follow you over there, because that would be fair. This way it’s not. I actually tried to convince the officer that I’m alright, but he just laughed at me and said that Japan would have to be in a really bad condition if they were to accept people like me in the army.  _

_ That’s what I wanted to tell you but probably wouldn’t be able to. But I will return to the previous topic. I woke up early since I had to go to work. I’m already getting used to it. To working, I mean. But it’s a little more difficult with people. And it’s not about being a cashier, I don’t mind that. People tell me what they want to buy and I give it to them. _

_ This time, though, I was stared at a lot. The three old women who always talk about other people were looking at me and whispering to each other. Like there weren’t any other problems such as war and not enough food. I feel like I’m the only one who realises how fast the food in the shop is disappearing. The war might be far away from our town, but we are not safe. Every day I have to tell people that we have ran out of some kind of food. I feel like they think that it is my fault. But the shop isn’t even mine. Oh, and my boss also looks pretty worried. He and his family are still rich, yet they can’tt afford to buy more food for the shop. It’s simply because there isn’t enough food in the whole Japan. _

_ I think the whispers I heard were connected with the war, though. I am sure that they were about me staying here while other boys my age left for war to become heroes. Old people in this town really look up to soldiers, you know that. I’m not the most popular person here right now. That’s nothing new, though.  _

_ The same day in the evening the local department got a telegraph about incoming bombing in the neighbouring town. Of course, everyone was shocked - this had never happened before to us. We all were told to go to the public bunker (except for the richest people who have their own). My boss offered me to use his family’s bunker and I accepted. You know how much I hate being in that small public one with everyone.  _

_ Now when I think about that, it seems a little paranoid to me that we all were getting ready for the attack in another town, but everyone is scared. I have to admit that I’m scared, too. War is scary. It is awful. I hate it. I wish it would be over soon. _

_ In the end, nothing happened. We left the bunker at night and there was no bombing, no attacks. Just a calm night. _

_ The next day after work I stopped at your house and your mother told me that she had already sent you a letter. She said you were probably lonely. I am sorry it took me so long to write this letter, but I’ve been busy with work lately. I mean, I don’t really get it. The shop is almost empty, when it comes to both people and food, yet my boss keeps me there all day. I have to clean and sort things, but most of the time I’m just bored. That’s why I decided to take some paper sheets and a pen here, so I could write this letter. Yes, I’m currently writing this at work.  _

_ I changed the topic again, my apologies. It’s just so weird that you aren’t here and can’t see those things yourself, I have the urge to explain the small details to you and therefore I can’t focus on the important things only. Anyway, yesterday your parents told me that they were a little worried about me being alone all the time. They said that despite the fact that I have been living alone for a while now, I always had you to keep me company. I guess that’s right. But I assured them that there was nothing to be worried about. I’m fine. After visiting your family I went to work again and this time almost no one visited the shop, except for one young woman, the one that lives on the edge of the town and hardly ever shows up. She looked really tired and worried, but - aren’t we all? She started talking to me, which was surprising, but not incomprehensible. She said that “they took her husband away”, which meant that he left for war. I asked her if she didn’t think that the soldiers were heroes and whether she shouldn’t have been proud of her husband. She almost yelled at me. “I hate the war!” She said. “It brings nothing but pain and loss.” I told her that she was right and she calmed down. I really do agree with her. But you know that already.  _

_ Then she said that she didn’t have enough money to buy food for her and her kid. I gave her just enough food for both of them to survive a few days, maybe weeks, if they were careful enough, and paid for it myself. I know you would agree with me. I know you would do the same.  _

_ I know that this is the time when everyone should care only for themselves, but… I think this world is cruel enough. Sometimes we need to be nice and maybe then this world will become a better place… Now I’m just being naive, I know. I have been in a really low mood lately, the war kind of affects me, makes me depressed and desperate. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for you. _

_ I wish I could go to war like you - and I’m not the only one. Yesterday, as I was walking home, I met a group of girls our age. They were staring at me, just like the others. They are always staring. Then one of them smirked and literally spat on the ground in front of me. I found it very, very rude. Then another one called me a “weak loser”. I didn’t say anything. They were right, after all. _

_ I haven’t noticed how long this letter got, so I will rather stop here. I have to clean the shop now and all  the important things have been said. Or written, if you want. _

_ I hope you are doing well over there. At least as much as possible. How is it? Do you have a nice place to sleep? Do you get enough food? Are people nice to you? _

_ Please, be careful.  _

_ Please, come back. _

_ I will be checking my mail box every day after sending this. Take care. _

 

_ Yours truly, _

  
  
  
  


_ Haru _

  
  
  
  
  


_ April 2nd 1942, Tokyo _

 

_ Dear Haru, _

 

_ I’m truly happy to hear from you. To be quite honest, I didn’t expect any letters this soon. I thought I would write to you at the end of my first week, but I guess you were faster. You and my family. You have no idea how glad I am to hear that nothing happened over there. I wish I could say that I was smiling while reading your letter the entire time, but there were parts that brought a frown to my face. _

_ At first I’d like to say that you should stop blaming yourself for not being able to join the army. I personally think it is a good thing that you are relatively safe. There is nothing heroic about war. People die here. And if you joined, you would be in a bigger danger than the other people due to your health issues. It’s just rude from people to be mean to you because of your problems. Please, don’t listen to them. You are amazing the way you are and I think you are brave, maybe in a different way than the soldiers, but that doesn’t make you any less brave. For example, you helped the woman even though you didn’t have to. And I know you. You are way better than other people.  _

_ I can’t believe that it had been only a few days since I left Iwatobi. I already miss you. And my family, too.  _

_ It’s not so bad here, though. I arrived together with many other guys, who were just as scared as me. Yes, I was scared. And I still am, a little. The first thing that happened to us after arriving to the barracks was a test. A physical and mental one. I was a little confused, because we took one in our hometowns already, but this test was actually harder than the one we did in Iwatobi. They tested our senses and IQ, but also our physical abilities. I completed all the exercises, even though they weren’t easy. My body is still sore. Then they sorted us to groups, based on our results. I somehow ended up in the ‘elite’ group of the newcomers that was chosen for the air force. I am okay with that. I mean, I have never tried flying before, but it doesn’t seem so bad. At least I won’t have to spend days and nights hidden in the dugouts, waiting for death. _

_ I’m sorry. I think the war has made me gloomy as well. But yes, air force is nice. The only problem will be flying across the ocean, I guess, but as long as I don’t fall in it, it should be okay. The thought itself makes me a little nervous… I’m laughing at myself right now.  _

_ To answer your questions. Yes, I have a nice place to sleep, or at least relatively nice. I share a room in the barracks with five other guys, but I have my own bed. I’m writing this at night, hidden under the blanket and using a flashlight. I got your letter today and wanted to answer as soon as possible. The food here isn’t so bad either, it isn’t really tasteful but it always fills me up and I’m not hungry anymore. People here are nice, well, the other newcomers are. We all are in the same trouble and I got great roommates. Our supervisors are strict, but that’s a normal army thing. As long as we do what they want, it’s okay. I’m doing my best. They are putting us through a quick drill, since they need us out in the war as soon as possible. Tomorrow we will already be allowed to pilot a plane. Can you believe it? I still can’t. We have tried only the simulator so far and that didn’t really feel like a real plane, so I’m pretty excited and scared at the same time. Just imagine me, flying a plane. Crazy, right? I’m pretty good with the simulator, but I’m afraid I’ll crash into something with the real plane. But, as the commander says, in war we don’t need weak people and who fails the drill has no chance in the real war. _

_ I’m not talking about you, though. I hope you didn’t read it as you were the weak person that can’t participiate in war! You are different.  _

_ I’m not that happy about war either, but I’m glad I can help. I can protect people. I can protect you.  _

_ I’m really scared, though. I’ll have to kill people. And that makes me feel uncomfortable. I haven’t even finished the drill yet and I’m already thinking of all the people dying out there and their families and future plans… I just wish you were here. You would know what to say. Everyone else is excited about war and all those things and they admire me for being good at the tasks we get from our supervisors, but… I just wish this didn’t need to happen. Why can’t we all live in peace? Why do we have to kill each other? _

_ I’m sorry, I tend to be a little pessimistic at night. I think I won’t sound so depressing tomorrow. I don’t want to send you a sad letter just full of complaints. I think that’s the last thing you need. I promise I’ll be stronger. The commander keeps telling us to be stronger and despite being strong physically (that’s what everyone says), I’m not strong mentally.  _

_ To be honest, I really miss Iwatobi. I miss you. I miss my family. I can’t wait to be home. Because I will come back. Soon. I promise you that I will come back. One day this all will be just a little dark memory, that will get less awful with every year that passes.  _

_ I should go to bed now, I’ll have a hard day tomorrow. But there are so many things I would like to tell you. Please, don’t worry about the lenght of your letters. Make them even longer. I’ll always happily read them. _

_ Alright, that will be all for my letter now. I hope you are doing well. I’m a little worried after hearing about people treating you badly, but I’m sure you will find a way to ignore them. I wish I could be there to support you, but I will send you some mental support. Is that too silly? I hope it helps, at least a little bit. I’ll take care if you will, too.   _

_ I’m already looking forward to reading your answer. I will be happy to hear everything about your days. I hope I’ll hear from you soon. _

 

_ Yours truly, _

  
  
  


_ Makoto _

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, guys, what do you think about this thingy? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Should I continue? Please, let me know!
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr (haruka-nanasodone-with-you.tumblr.com) or Twitter (DaniLovesSatan)!


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